The families of a pair of hikers who went missing near Harrison Hot Springs last week are speaking out in hopes of getting some answers about what happened to their loved ones.

“We just hope that they’re alive. We think in our heart of hearts that they might be. We just need to know,” said Peter Dowsley, the father of one of the hikers.

Greg Tiffin and 34-year-old Sophie Dowsley went for what the family believes was a day hike near Chehalis Lake on July 8, but never returned home.

“They’ve gone to a very dangerous place and they haven’t come out,” Peter told CTV News in an exclusive interview. “The terrain is just absolutely stunningly beautiful and rugged and unforgiving. Obviously, the only people that can be in there are trained professionals.”

Tiffin’s family is from Abbostford and the Dowsleys have flown in from Australia.

Both are desperate for answers.

“It's the worst possible nightmare that you could imagine,” Peter said. “I couldn't dream of anything worse.”

So far, search crews have located the couple’s SUV, found Dowsley’s sunglasses near a waterfall and recovered some of Tiffin’s personal items in the water below.

One official called the location “a waterfall with a history of fatalities.”

“We have not been to that location for close to 20 years, but 20 years ago, we went there three times, three consecutive years, for exactly the same scenario and a fatality each time,” said Neil Brewer of Kent Harrison Search and Rescue.

With search resources running low due to the wildfire crisis in B.C., the families feel like they have nowhere to turn.

“We understand that so many trained professionals are fighting fires in Canada and where the resources are going to come from to find our daughter, we don't know,” Peter said.

Jeremy Tiffin, Greg’s brother, said his sibling would have gone to the hike prepared, including the route he was taking.

Tiffin says he has “a feeling of helplessness” about the disappearance of his brother.

“They’re not here, they’re out there,” he said. “We need them found.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Alex Turner